Genealogists worried by proposed cemetery rules
Permission will be needed for photography, filming in Waterloo
WATERLOO — A plan to limit photography in City of Waterloo cemeteries has caused worry among genealogists locally and beyond.
No photography and filming will be allowed in municipal cemeteries without prior permission of the manager, according to a recently updated cemetery services bylaw.
City officials say the aim of the new rule is not to stop people from taking pictures of headstones, but to prevent anything inappropriate on cemetery grounds.
“We’re kind of operating under those rules now in an informal way,” said Bryce Crouse, manager of cemetery and horticulture services for Waterloo. “It’s almost business as usual.”
Although Crouse said there has never been a
problem at a Waterloo cemetery, the city wanted to formalize the rules for visitors to “prevent things that we don’t want to see in the cemetery.”
“The bylaw allows us to have some recourse,” Crouse said.
Unwanted use includes photography for profit or “anything that would be against the decorum, the dignity, the sanctity of the cemetery.”
Families would still be able to take photos, and the good relationship the cemetery has had with genealogical societies and students will continue.
“We’ve always worked well with them,” Crouse said. “I don’t foresee any issues.”
But genealogists and historians are concerned about the new photography rules, in particular because it would set a precedent.
“I don’t think we should be restricting it in any way, shape or form,” said Darryl Bonk, a Kitchener heritage enthusiast behind the Waterloo Region Generations project.
Bonk said the headstones are on public display, many of them already photographed and posted online.
Requiring permission adds “an extra step” and Bonk doesn’t understand why. If the city wants to prevent something, he said the bylaw should be more specific.
“I think it’s a solution in search of a problem,” Bonk said.
The bylaw states: “No person shall cause or permit the taking of any photographic or video imaging within any Cemetery except with the prior permission of the Manager.”
Bonk posted the new photography rule on a Kitchener-based Facebook group and the responses were overwhelming.
“It created quite a storm,” Bonk said. “Everybody thought it was fake news because it was so unusual or outlandish.”
Judy Barrette-Flint found out about the plan on an Ontario genealogy Facebook group, where there was also a heated discussion.
“They’re all concerned about this,” said the Kitchener woman, who has been tracing her family’s history for the past six years.
She’s taken pictures of headstones and there are numerous online galleries of grave markers. Often people will take a photo to share with family who don’t live nearby.
“They just want to see a picture of the headstone,” she said.
The bylaw’s vague wording around photography bothers Barrette-Flint since it doesn’t specify the criteria for getting permission.
The bylaw was approved unanimously at the July 24 council meeting. It must now be reviewed for final approval by the Bereavement Authority of Ontario, which oversees the bereavement sector on behalf of the province.
If approved, it would come into effect on Sept. 1.
CanadaGenWeb, a free Canadian genealogy portal, posted a notice about Waterloo’s plan on its website and urged people to write to the bereavement authority before September, “to let them know what you think about this bylaw and how it would impact you personally.”
Crouse said a municipal cemetery is a public place, but special bylaws can be put into place on public property such as hours of operation. The Mount Pleasant Group of cemeteries in Toronto have similar bylaw.
Crouse said the cemetery would never stand in the way of family members taking pictures of a grave and the new rule shouldn’t hamper the work of genealogical groups.
“We feel that they provide a wonderful service to the community,” he said.
A manager is on-site at Parkview Cemetery five days a week, but not at Mount Hope. When the manager is not available or away, someone else will respond quickly to photography permission requests.
“Certainly, a quick phone call would be much appreciated,” Crouse said.